MPs split over plan to have an 'extra night off' (that means some may work just a TWO-DAY week)

Controversial plans to give MPs an extra 'night off' from the Commons have caused a split among backbenchers.

It has been claimed the move towards family-friendly hours at Westminster will lead to some MPs working a two-day week.

The Commons will vote this week on changing Tuesday sessions from the present arrangement – of 2.30pm until as late as 10.30pm – to instead sit from 11.30am to 7pm. Thursdays will run from 9.30am to 5pm if the measure goes through.

Divisive issue: Backbenchers are split over plans to give MPs an extra night off from the Commons

The plans, which are led by women MPs,
are designed to stop members being ‘perpetually tired’ and give them
more time with their families.

But Labour former Cabinet Minister
Jack Straw said that when an experiment in finishing early was conducted
under the last Labour Government, it was abused. ‘It led to quite a
lot of people being here for two days a week,’ he said.

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Tory MP Philip Davies said: ‘We should
keep the hours as they are. The majority of MPs live a long way from
London. Finishing early is no good for me – I would never be able to get
back home to Yorkshire.’

Plans to scrap Friday sittings will be discussed and voted on at a later date.

The plan has been drawn up by the
Commons all-party Procedure Committee after a year of research, but Mr Straw warned it could backfire.

Warning: Former foreign secretary Jack Straw has warned that the proposals could backfire

He told the committee: ‘I plead with you, particularly with the expenses scandal, to think very carefully about the reputational damage that will happen if it appears that the House is reducing the number of sitting days.’

Mr Straw said when Tony Blair’s administration introduced a similar experiment in ‘family-friendly’ sittings, it led to ‘quite a lot of people being here two days a week’.

He added that MPs would be ‘punished’ by the media if they introduced a four-day week, and he challenged the committee’s claim that there had been a ‘huge increase’ in MPs’ constituency workloads, stating that they now had far more staff to help them than before.

MPs already get most Fridays off, but the House sits on 13 Fridays a year, mainly to debate the Private Members’ Bills proposed by backbench MPs.

Under the plans, these would be discussed midweek, and in a three-hour session rather than the five currently allocated to them.

Committee chairman Greg Knight acknowledged the move could provoke controversy. He said: ‘If we were to say Fridays are a constituency day, the press would say, “Now they want a four-day week.” ’

Furthermore, some MPs want the midweek sittings, which end between 6pm and 10pm, brought forward so they can go home earlier.

Labour MP Dame Joan Ruddock told the committee: ‘Many MPs say the hours are so long they are perpetually tired. They are stressed by their jobs, with personal lives suffering as a consequence. Starting and finishing earlier would give them more control over the remaining hours of the day.’

MPs say a four-day Commons week would
mean they could spend Fridays in their constituencies and allow more MPs
to take part in Private Members’ Bill debates because they will not
need to make a special journey to London on Fridays.

The Procedure Committee says that more than half of MPs are dissatisfied with their work/life balance, adding that the job ‘is an extraordinarily demanding role . . . Most MPs work 70 hours a week or more while the House is sitting and take few holidays.’

It claims there is ‘much support’ for not sitting on Fridays.

Lib Dem Lorely Burt told the committee: ‘A lot of us paint ourselves as local champions. You can’t be a local champion if you lose one day a week to come back to Parliament.’

Too tired: Labour MP Dame Joan Ruddock says MPS are 'perpetually tired' because of long hours in the Commons

Prominent Labour MP Tony Lloyd said Friday should ‘liberated as a constituents’ day . . . I believe there is real merit in doing that.’

Former Labour MP Kitty Ussher, a mother of two, said: ‘I quit Parliament after one term because the sitting hours made me angry on a daily basis and I felt it was impossible to continue.’

However, Tory grandee Sir Roger Gale
countered: ‘We should shift the emphasis back to the job that has to be
done, rather than expressing too much concern about working hours.’

And Labour’s Jenny Chapman, who represents Darlington, said she had proved it was possible to combine motherhood with a career.

‘I have four kids, two of whom are very young, and they are based 250 miles away,’ she said.

‘It is not that bad. We say, “Isn’t this
awful?” but you can do it. Because of the hours here, we get school
holidays off. You don’t have to work 100 hours a week to be a good MP.
We are victims of our own myths.’

MPs generally spend 34 weeks a year at Westminster, giving them 18 weeks for constituency work and holidays. Parliament currently sits for about 32 hours a week and 37 when it opens on Friday.

From July 17, Parliament is in recess for seven weeks. After two weeks back in September, MPs have another four-week recess during the party conference season.

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MPs split over plan to have an' extra night off' (that means some will work just a TWO-DAY week)